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MARGARETA ARSENESCU, MITJA GUŠTIN, The treasure from Cucuteni-Baiceni and the Thracian-Getian Golden Age
During the reign of Philip II of Macedon, filigree and granulation‑decorated objects of prestige appeared in great numbers across the regions along the lower Danube. These regions were home to Thracian and Getian tribes, and the objects may be seen as a reflection of Philip’s diplomatic‑monetary policy towards his powerful neighbours to the east. The ascendency of the Iron Age aristocracies continued during the reign of Philip’s son, Alexander the Great of Macedon, and his successors, and was marked by the production of outstanding ceremonial objects for the leaders of these Thracian‑Getian tribes. The objects discussed here include Greek pieces of jewellery that circulated especially among the local Thracian‑Getian aristocracy, who lived in close proximity to the splendour of Hellenistic rulers. A good example of such connections and coexistence is the hoard from Cucuteni‑Băiceni, a treasure that contains both Greek and local examples of ceremonial gold work of the highest quality.
Keywords: filigree, granulation, Thracian‑Getian Golden Age, Cucuteni‑Băiceni
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7
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DANIEL SPANU, The latest fibulae of Early La Tene scheme: the Orlea-Maglavit type
The recent publication of some fibulae kept in museums in northeastern Bulgaria, as well as some specimens identified by treasure hunters or following of some rescue excavations requires a plenary revision of our vision about the origin, distribution and cultural significance of the Orlea – Maglavit type. The Orlea – Maglavit fibulae make up one of the most original types of apparent “Early La Tène scheme” conceived between the Balkans, Carpathians and Pontus. The genesis and spread of the Orlea – Maglavit type falls within that stage of regional cultural evolution in which already assimilated La Tène patterns could be creatively reconfigured. The design and distribution of these fibulae could correspond to the cultural reconfigurations that took place in the Lower Danube basin at the end of the Middle La Tène and the beginning of the Late La Tène.
Keywords: fibulae, Orlea – Maglavit type, Middle and Late La Tène period, Lower Danube, cultural connectivities
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31
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VLADISLAV ZHIVKOV, Bronze vessels of the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire from Moesia (northern Bulgaria)
The article examines the finds of bronze vessels from the territory of modern Northern Bulgaria. The single find outside this region that is included is from Krǎn, which is probably the earliest Roman import in the territory of Bulgaria, from the beginning of the 2nd century BC. The rest of the items belong to well‑known types: jugs of Piatra Neamţ, Gallarate, Ornavasso – Montefiascone/ Kjaerumgaard types; situlae of Eggers 20 and Costeşti – Tilişca types; pans of Aylesford type, casseroles of Eggers 134‑136/Petrovszky type III and few pelta‑shape feet of casseroles. Most of the finds were discovered in the western half of Northern Bulgaria. The Roman interest in this region is also attested by coin hoards, which consist of large silver coins: tetradrachms (I Macedonian region, Thasos), drachms (Apollonia and Dyrrachium), and Roman republican denarii. Based on the dates of the items, the regular importation of bronze vessels started in the second half of the 2nd century BC. At the same time, numerous graves with La Tène weaponry appear. The author argues that those prestigious items testify about the Roman diplomacy in the region and especially the search for allies – against the raids of the Scordisci and especially against Mithridates VI Eupator.
Keywords: bronze vessels, casseroles, situlae, Lower Danube, Moesia, Roman imports, Late La Tène
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59
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FLORIN CURTA, ANDREI GÂNDILA, Roman nostalgias in Near Barbaricum
This paper is a contribution to the understanding of the perception of time in the early Middle Ages (6th‑7th centuries) through the analysis of an archaeological phenomenon: the “recycling” of artefacts of Roman origin, mainly coins and fibulae. Authors’ analysis shifts the emphasis away from artefacts as simply markers of time to an understanding of artefact symbolism that takes into account the social and cultural context in which their meaning is attached to various notions of temporality. In the 6th century, interest in the Roman past was prevalent among intellectuals like Jordanes and John the Lydian who glorified the Roman golden age, the republican past and the achievements of the “good” emperors. Although Byzantine scholars disagreed on the interpretation of past events, their choices reflected both the concerns of their time as well as their own profound sense of history as a meaningful tool for understanding the present. Outside the circle of the educated elites in Constantinople, no signs of nostalgia may be detected in the archaeological record of the Byzantine Balkans. However, the situation in the western and north‑western parts of the Balkan Peninsula that were outside the Empire in the 6th century, as well as in the Middle Danube region, was completely different. The archaeological evidence in Near Barbaricum leaves no doubt that the glory of Rome was worth commemorating. A Roman chronotope is likely to have been present in those communities, perhaps embedded in stories or myths associated with the Roman objects. There is a remarkable correspondence between the choices made by the authors writing in the 6th century and those “barbarians“ who buried their dead with Roman coins. The same emperors seem to have captured people’s imagination, although perhaps for different reasons. Coins deposited in graves were clearly selected and historical memory was an important criterion. Since most of the these ancient objects were found inside or in the proximity of old Roman settlements, it is likely that the Roman objects deposited in early medieval graves were procured locally, through accidental or intentional digging in Roman ruins. As far as coins are concerned, in most cases the main object of attention was the imperial portrait, either the selection of a particular emperor or the idea of empire in general. Some of the coins were kept in monetary form, while others were turned into pieces of jewellery, usually pendants. They served as public reminders of the Roman past just as fibulae were a reminder of old Roman fashion. The authors conclude that people in Near Barbaricum looked back nostalgically upon the Roman past as the great age of the Empire and wanted to associate themselves symbolically with that time.
Keywords: Barbaricum, nostalgia, chronotope, Jordanes, Procopius, coins, fibulae, funerary archaeology
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83
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SILVIU OȚA, Earring link models and their circulation on the present-day territory of Romania (11th-early 16th centuries)
On the present-day territory of Romania, various models of earring links were in circulation from 11th to the 16th centuries. Their shapes and their manufacturing characteristics could vary from one region to another due to different external influences that occurred at various times throughout the analysed period. This article primarily focuses on the shapes of the earring links, with the analysis of decorative patterns being secondary. The author attempted to create a typology of earring link characteristics since, in many cases, they can be indicative of specific chronological periods. Their distribution across the present-day territory of Romania has also been considered, where notable regional variations become apparent. In total, the author has considered a number of 75 sites where such pieces come from, to which are added the specimens from museum collections (four). Overall, we can observe that, despite the constantly changing ornamental patterns of earrings, they are broadly the same, particularly in regions with connections to Byzantium and its successor states. These states were significantly influenced by the jewellery fashion of the Byzantine Empire, even after its decline. In each state where Byzantine influence was present, the local craftsmen enriched the earring decorations according to the preferences of the local populations.
Keywords: earrings, hoards, isolated items, necropolises, settlements, coins, links
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145
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RENATA-GABRIELA TATOMIR, On two ancient Egyptian fragments of sarcophagus lid with inscription and homonymous owner
In the 2021 issue of the SCIVA journal (Tatomir 2021), in a study in Romanian (with a summary in English), I presented in detail a fragment of an Egyptian sarcophagus, attributed to a person named PAdjtm (Paditem/Padiatem/Padiatum/Padiatoum), who lived in the 4th century BC, very likely during the Nectanebid period (30th Dynasty, ca. 380-343 BC).. The fragment is inscribed with a part of the funerary text known as the Litany of Re and is part of the collection of Egyptian antiquities of the “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology in Bucharest, under the inventory number E 196. At the end of the study, I pointed out that, during my research and investigations on this piece, I identified two other fragments related to it. I identified one of them (which is the subject of the present study) when I came across the bibliographic source Patriarchate of Alexandria 2006 – 2016, Patriarchate of Alexandria, 2016 (with texts by Georgios Mylonas, Vassilis Chrysikopoulos and Antonis Bekiaris, p. 72‑73). In this anniversary volume, Vassilis Chrysikopoulos, an Egyptologist and archaeologist from the Acropolis Museum, briefly mentions a fragment with an inscription from the sarcophagus of the priest Padiatem in the Alexandria Museum, illustrated with two photographs. At that time, based on the photographs and the homonymy of the two people found in the fragment E 196 and in the one in Alexandria Museum, I concluded that it is the same owner. Moreover, according to the arrangement and structure of the text, the inscription fragment in Alexandria may be a continuation in the upper right section of the same sarcophagus of the same ritual praise formulas from the Litany of Re, which are also present on the fragment in the “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology. Basically, the columns with addresses to the manifestations of Re starting on piece E 196 continue on the fragment in Alexandria. At that time, I noticed a discrepancy between the two inscriptions, in the manner of writing the Litany of Re, which could perhaps indicate the handwriting of a different scribe. However, I must specify that I did not have access to the fragment in Alexandria in its physical form, hence I based my opinion on available photographs only. Following an in‑depth analysis of the Alexandria fragment, some clarifications are required now, which will be presented hereinafter. The existence of another fragment was brought to my attention on the occasion of the 12th International Congress of Egyptologists held in Cairo on November 3rd‑8th, 2019. During the congress, Åke Engsheden (Stockholm University) presented a paper about another fragment of the same sarcophagus, which he identified and prepared for publication. This fragment is in the Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm and consists mainly of figures and a few small fragments from the Litany of Re and from Chapter 72 of the Book of the Dead. The present paper aims to expand and detail the previous study from SCIVA 72, 2021, by joining the photographs of the two fragments visually and discussing/analysing these two fragments together – E 196 and Alexandria –, their transliteration and translation, and, based on the graphic and stylistic peculiarities, to highlight those elements that support the hypothesis that the two pieces belong to the same Egyptian sarcophagus.
Keywords: P3djtm, Paditem, Padiatem, Padiitem, Padiatum, Padiatoum, Litany of Re, “Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Patriarchate of Alexandria, Late Period sarcophagus, Nectanebid Period
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217
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EMILIAN TELEAGA, GHEORGHE NICULESCU, The metal composition of the silver harness parts of the riding horse from tomb 2 under Mogilanska Mogila in Vraca (4th century BC)
X‑ray fluorescence analyses were carried out on 39 harness parts and on two vessels from the royal tomb 2 under Mogilanska Mogila in Vraca in the Triballian lands. They were compared with the analysed harness sets from Agighiol and Peretu in the lands of the Getae, all of them belonging to the same stylistic group. One harnessed horse was very expensive. The harness parts from Vraca were made of a silver alloy containing copper, bismuth, lead, gold and iron, as well as trace elements. They were probably gilded; the back of the appliqués of the harness set shaped as a woman’s head was connected through an alloy with the core. The harness set and the vessels were made of the same silver ingot by a silversmith working in the Vraca region. This ingot differs from those of Peretu and Agighiol. The origin of these ingots is unknown.
Keywords: Vraca – Mogilanska Mogila, Agighiol, Peretu, harness set, fluorescence analyses, horse costs, gilded harness parts, local silversmith, different ingots
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257
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MARTIN HENIG, ERGÜN LAFLI, Five Roman engraved gems from a private collection in Izmir (Turkey)
Five engraved gems of the Roman period were formerly preserved in the private collection of Ms Berna Oğuz (Izmir) who sold these pieces officially to Mr Koray Selçik, who has an extensive collection in Izmir which is officially registered to the Museum Directorship of Izmir in western Turkey. These gems are as follows: 1. a red jasper intaglio, depicting Eros burning the Psyche-butterfly and set in an iron ring; 2. an intaglio of translucent chalcedony (or moulded glass), depicting Nemesis, set in a bronze ring; 3. an octagonal cornelian intaglio inscribed with the name Iesou, set in a silver ring; 4. an intaglio with an elephant head; 5. an intaglio depicting Tyche and Nemesis.
Keywords: engraved gems, finger-rings, octagonal gemstones, late antique Christianity, the Kolay Selçik collection, Izmir, Asia Minor, Turkey, Roman period, Late Roman period
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271
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CRISTINA-GEORGETA ALEXANDRESCU, The Roman cuirassed statue from Tyras
This article re-examines the Roman larger-than-life-size cuirassed statue from Tyras. The aim is to demonstrate that it was a funerary statue and that the depicted helmet is one of the rare illustrations of the so-called Ostrov-type helmet.
Keywords: Roman cuirassed statue, Tyras, funerary statue, Ostrov-type helmet, limestone
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279
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Joanna Porucznik, Cultural Identity within the Northern Black Sea Region in Antiquity. (De)constructing Past Identities, Colloquia Antiqua 31, Peeters Publishing House, Leuven, 2021, 227 p., 31 fig., 978-90-429-4423-7 (Florina Panait-Bîrzescu)
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293
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Michal‚ Grygiel, Osadnictwo celtyckie w Zachodniej Malopolsce. Ze studiów nad grupa tyniecka, Polska Akademia Umiejetnosci, Kraków, 2022, 576 pages, 8 tables, 112 figures, 100 plates, ISBN 978-83-7676-346-0 (Daniel Spânu)
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296
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Matthias Friedrich, James Harland (eds.), Interrogating the ‘Germanic’. A Category and its Use in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde, volume 123, De Gruyter, Berlin, 2021, VI + 270 p., e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-070162-3 (Gheorghe Alexandru Niculescu)
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299
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Silvia Marinescu-Bâlcu, 1st January 1935, Brașov – 21st February 2023, Bucharest (Radu-Alexandru Dragoman)
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313
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Mircea Babeș, 13th December 1941 – 26th April 2023 (Daniel Spânu)
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321
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ABRÉVIATIONS
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ABRÉVIATIONS
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